Rivers would like to keep Bledsoe, Jordan

It was a torturous path, but the Clippers seem to have gotten themselves right where they hoped to be as NBA free agency gets underway. They have the guy who some consider to be the best coach in the NBA—Doc Rivers—and gave up only a draft pick to get him. And they’re poised to remove any shred of anxiety about the future of point guard Chris Paul, who has let it be known he intends to re-sign with LA.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that the rest of the roster is very much in flux, and Rivers—carrying his new front-office title—now must figure out how to fill in the right mix of players around Paul.

The two big decisions that Rivers has to make, of course, is what to do with center DeAndre Jordan, who was nearly sent to Boston for Kevin Garnett, and backup point guard Eric Bledsoe. The Clippers fielded a number of offers for Bledsoe at the draft, but league sources said the Clippers did not want to trade him until they see how the rest of the roster shapes up.

Jordan has drawn plenty of interest, most notably from Portland, where the general manager who drafted Jordan for the Clippers—Neil Olshey—is now running the show. But Rivers knows he has got to be careful when it comes to Jordan. He is only 25, and having his name being put through the trade wringer is not going to be helpful for his already delicate psyche. The ship sailed on getting Garnett to LA, obviously, and keeping Jordan might, in the end, be the solution at center.

If that’s the case, Rivers is going to need Jordan to buy in 100 percent. Sources around the Clippers last year told Sporting News that Jordan, despite his deficiencies, actually put in the most work of his career last season, attempting to develop a hook shot as he learned to play with his back to the basket. But Jordan lacks confidence in his interior game because of his 38.6 percent free-throw shooting.

“If the right (assistant) coaches get him and build him up, he is going to have a breakthrough,” one source said. “But starting it all off with trade rumors is not going to help him between the ears.”

Still, with Jordan’s free-throw shooting weighing on the team, the Clippers will need a good backup big man. They’re likely to keep free-agent Ryan Hollins, who played with Rivers in Boston, but will look for an upgrade behind Jordan. The Clippers are rumored to have interest in Marreese Speights, but he is likely out of their price range. More likely is that they will pursue a veteran, and former Clippers Elton Brand and Chris Wilcox would be up on that list.

ESPN.com reported that the Clippers had been offered Toronto big man Andrea Bargnani for Caron Butler (Bargnani is heading to the Knicks). There have been ongoing talks between the teams about swapping Bledsoe for DeMar DeRozan, but the Clippers are reluctant to take on DeRozan’s newly signed four-year, $40 million contract.

The big issue is what to do about the two starting wing spots. In addition to DeRozan, the Clippers have had talks—before Rivers arrived—with the Magic about swapping Bledsoe for guard Arron Afflalo, who is a top-notch defender and averaged 16.5 points. Orlando selected shooting guard Victor Oladipo with the No. 2 pick in the draft, meaning Afflalo is likely on his way out.

The Clippers’ focus on the shooting guard spot, and their willingness to dump Butler, leaves small forward wide open. Matt Barnes is a free agent and played well—on a minimum contract—for the Clippers last year. Ideally, the team would re-sign him and put him in the starting five, but Barnes will have more options this summer and could price himself out of the Clippers’ range.

If Barnes leaves, there will be a rather gaping hole in the roster for the Clippers. There had been the hope that the Celtics would buy out Paul Pierce, and that he would head West to join Rivers, but that, too, has now been scotched.

The Clippers have tradable assets with Bledsoe and Jordan. However, they also have multiple holes to fill. Paul and Rivers are in place, but the work is just beginning.